The list of reasons that Matt Hall should be kept away from further abusing his power as Michigan House Minority Leader is long.
He is a well-known election denier. Everyone should be questioning whether Hall—who once invited former President Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani to spread election fraud lies before a Michigan House committee—is suitable to lead a state GOP already in disarray. (Kristina Karamo, the election-denying chair of the Michigan GOP, refuses to acknowledge her recent ouster.)
He’s been doing his shtick for a long time. Back in college he made email threats he delivered in college—wherein he warned “the South will rise again.”
American Independent Foundation resurfaced police reports with Hall’s alleged threats: “YOU BETTER NOT GO TO THE CHRISTMAS PARTY TOMORROW NIGHT! JUST A WORD OF ADVICE!! THE SOUTH WILL RISE AGAIN AND WE DON’T LIKE YOUR KIND TREATING LADIES LIKE [redacted] WITHOUT DIGNITY,” he wrote in one message.
“WE ARE GOING TO IMPOSE OUR SOUTHERN WAYS ON YOU! I’VE GOT A SHOTGUN RIFLE AND I JUST PUT A BULLET IN IT WITH YOUR NAME ON IT!” Hall’s email continued.
Police records show that Hall, of southwest Michigan, was accused of domestic violence against his girlfriend in 2019 but was never charged, according to a Daily Beast report. He was also accused of interfering with a 911 call.
This was too much for even his own party. “Our caucus would not have elected Matt Hall as our leader had we known this,” Republican State Rep. Jim DeSana of Wyandotte said. “I think it’s a basic question of honesty. This report came out and we got factual information on the report and the facts are completely different than what Matt has told us.”
Then, there’s history of outrageous gambling. A Democratic source provided Rolling Stone with screenshots of Hall’s account on Action Network taken before the account went private. The images show Hall’s account placing roughly $73,000 in bets — or more than $2,200 per day, on average. Hall’s account shows a net loss of about $9,000 — with most of the action taking place within a month of his opening the account in January 2018.
The amount wagered in the first 33 days represents more than the entire yearly salary of a state legislator; at the time, Michigan state lawmakers were paid $71,685 annually.
Matt needs help not public office.
Vote for Austin Marsman for a Representative in State House District 42 who you can trust.